Sometimes it is brain surgery

By: harmelmark Mood: full of life Date: 09/28/2007 16:57:30 Music: None

I'm completing a major remake of my website. Below is a section of my bio that relates to my healthcare photography. I thought that it could serve as an introduction as well.

Surf on over and let me know how it works for you.
http://www.harmelphoto.com/
 

Sometimes it’s a brain scan and sometimes it’s looking through a microscope to make art out of a rat’s brain. I go wherever the assignment takes me—I’m one of the few photographers you’ll ever meet who knows how to scrub for surgery (though they only let me operate the camera).

It all started when I was hired to shoot an overview of the UCLA campus, and ended up at the School of Medicine. My favorite photo from those years was of a diabetes clinical researcher—who became my wife.

Being married to a leading doctor led me to a unique perspective on the healthcare world. I got to attend patient education events, medical seminars, and observed healthcare marketing firsthand. And so, for a layman, I’ve become pretty knowledgeable in the diabetes world, and I’ve traveled the globe with many top experts in the field.

Today, I’m comfortable enough with doctors to make them speak plain English when I need to translate their work into a photo. (Basically, when you hang out with doctors in bars, and you hear about all their victories, frustrations, and vulnerabilities, you lose any sense of intimidation you may have had.) This allows me to take doctors off their pedestals and immortalize them in other ways.

Mark Harmel